Our rural pub: the Hack & Spade
THE PUB: The Hack &: Spade, Whashton, Richmond, North Yorkshire
LICENSEES: Anne & Alistair Dowson-Park
Former Tory leader William Hague may already be numbered among the customers at the Hack & Spade in Whashton - but there aren't enough of them following him through the door.
It's now six months since licensees Anne and Alastair Dowson-Park took over the freehouse, deep in the heart of James Herriot country in North Yorkshire. The couple have come to realise that the challenges of running a village pub off the beaten track - and changing its reputation - are greater than they had realised.
The previous owner ran the place as more of a restaurant than a pub. Anne and Alastair are now looking to maintain and grow their food trade while welcoming in more drinkers and placing themselves truly at the heart of the local community.
"When we first saw the pub we liked the look of the village and the fact that the pub was in the centre of the community," remembers Anne.
"But the previous people tried to turn it into something that it isn't, and we are trying to get it back to being at the heart of the village.
This pub needs an injection of cuteness. Before people couldn't really come in for a drink. Now I'm trying to change the perception.
"We've been able to get to a certain point and we need more help to go further."
With little more than 100 people living in the village and stiff competition from three nearby pubs they also need to find more reasons for people from the nearby market town of Richmond and other surrounding areas to visit.
No strangers to the business
Anne and Alastair are no strangers to the hospitality industry after spending four years running a small hotel in a remote part of Scotland north of Inverness.
Having decided to move further down south for personal reasons, the couple still firmly believe that the pub has the trading potential to help it prosper.
Anne, who takes responsibility for the cooking at the venue, has already introduced a lively looking menu, ranging from Moroccan lamb tagine to pork hock.
They've changed the beers, introduced wine matching on the menus and been encouraged by the response to a family-themed Halloween event they ran last October.
On the entertainment side Anne and Alastair are willing to try pub quizzes and karaoke, but currently have no TV preferring background music.
With such a strong food base already the couple do not encourage smoking, with no ashtrays on the tables, and smokers already tending to go outside.
They are thinking to a local landowner about hiring out some of the field next door to give them more of an option for smokers - although they would prefer to keep the picturesque garden at the rear of the property for themselves.
"We're excited about working with all of the champions involved in the project," says Anne.
And with a key priority finding new ways to market the business, they are particularly looking forward to working with business development expert Carl May of Catered 4.
"For us one of the biggest challenges is getting the Hack & Spade known and talked about," she says. "Because we are off the beaten track we don't get any passing trade."
The Sell More, Save More category champions agreed that the pub has the potential to reinvent itself, turn around its offer and change its customer base.
With the first supplier visits starting this month, we're about to find out if that is the case.
